Xref: utzoo comp.windows.misc:808 comp.sys.next:1004 comp.sys.mac:24378 alt.cyberpunk:1193
Path: utzoo!utgpu!bnr-vpa!bnr-rsc!dgbt!cognos!timd
From: timd@cognos.uucp (Tim Dudley)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.misc,comp.sys.next,comp.sys.mac,alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: replacing the desktop metaphor
Keywords: desktop metaphor, graphical interfaces, computing environments
Message-ID: <4939@enterprise.UUCP>
Date: 23 Dec 88 15:44:35 GMT
References: <4362@pitt.UUCP> <257@gloom.UUCP> <8951@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Reply-To: timd@cognos.UUCP (Tim Dudley)
Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 30

In article <8951@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> remy@cit-vax.UUCP (Remy Sanouillet) writes:

 >
 >This is basically the subject of my PhD dissertation. It extends [etc...]

 >My role is allowing users to share their contexts which contain
 >data base objects in several different mediatic forms (entities,
 >texts, pictures, sound recordings, etc...) by opening up a common
 >window where each user retains his/her means of control. They each
 >have a cursor, mouse pointer or whatever pointing device their
 >computer supports, and a voice link is opened for direct communication.
 >This allows, for example, a team of designers scattered all over the
 >world to all lean over the same blueprint, give advice, make changes, 
 >querry the data base to find who is affected by the change, get them
 >in on the meeting and send the revised project to manufacturing.
 >

This is the idea of the common information space, which was a high profile
project at Bell-Northern Research in the early 70's, pioneered there by
Gordon Thompson and funded largely by Bell Canada.  You might want to save 
yourself some work and find out what they did there.

It's interesting.  Thompson was always referred to as a "futurist", and he
figured that meant he was about 20 years ahead of everybody else.  In this
case, he's pretty close.
-- 
Tim Dudley                           Cognos Incorporated 
(613) 738-1440                       3755 Riverside Drive, P.O.Box 9707 
uucp: uunet!mitel!sce!cognos!timd    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada  K1G 3Z4
 "It's a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word."